The present disclosure generally relates to cushioning articles and more particularly, to cushioning articles including wave springs to provide support to a user thereof. The wave springs generally have an arcuate shape, e.g., an elliptical or parabolic shape.
Cushioning articles such as mattresses have evolved very little in the past fifty years. For example, a standard mattress generally includes a set of metal coil springs mounted either on a base under a foam pad, or sandwiched between a pair of foam pads. The metal springs and foam pad or pads are then covered with a batting material. The entire structure is then sewn into a cloth cover and the edges are wrapped and sewn.
The limitations of metal coil springs combined with improved quality and durability of foam products has led to the relatively recent development of the foam core as a viable alternative to the coil spring especially as it relates to mattresses. A foam core can provide significant improvements in body contour, elimination of pressure points, and improved comfort and support compared to conventional spring-based cushioning articles. For example, a basic foam mattress typically includes one or more layers of foam having desirable properties assembled into a fabric cover which often appears identical to a standard coil metal spring mattress. The foam mattress may include a center core of relatively high resilience foam sandwiched between two layers of lower resilience foam encased in a fabric shell. This construction allows for a reversible mattress.
While the use of foam layers overcomes some of the disadvantages of coil spring, they exhibit other disadvantages including excessive firmness, difficulty adjusting the firmness, and a lack of air flow through the foam core trapping body heat within the mattress. There is, therefore, a continuing need for improved cushioning article designs that overcome the disadvantages of coil springs and multiple foam layers.